| 1. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(author)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Pena, FJ, et al.
(author)
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Identification of sperm morphometric subpopulations in two different portions of the boar ejaculate and its relation to postthaw quality
- 2005
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In: Journal of Andrology. - : American Society of Andrology. - 0196-3635 .- 1939-4640. ; 26:6, s. 716-723
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A statistical approach using sequentially principal component analysis (PCA), clustering, and discriminant analyses was. developed to identify sperm morphometric subpopulations in well-defined portions of the fresh boar ejaculate. Semen was obtained as 2 portions (the first 10 mL of the sperm-rich fraction and the rest of. the ejaculate, respectively) and frozen using a conventional protocol. Before freezing, an aliquot was Used for computer-assisted. sperm morphometry analysis (ASMA). Postthaw quality was evaluated using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA), and an annexin-V/PI assay evaluated sperm membranes. The PCA revealed that 3 variables represented more than 78% of the cumulative variance in sperm subpopulations. The clustering and discriminant analyses, based on 5780 individual spermatozoa, revealed the existence of 4 sperm subpopulations. The relative percentage of these subpopulations Varied between boar and ejaculate portions. Linear regression models based on measured morphometric characteristics could account for up to 36% of the percentage of intact sperm membranes postthaw. The ASMA protocol used in our study was useful to detect subtle morphometric differences between spermatozoa, and the combination of this analysis with a multivariate statistical procedure gave hew information on the biological characteristics of boar ejaculates that is not given by conventional sperm analysis.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Pena, FJ, et al.
(author)
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A new and simple method to evaluate early membrane changes in frozen-thawed boar spermatozoa
- 2005
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In: International Journal of Andrology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0105-6263 .- 1365-2605. ; 28:2, s. 107-114
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Detection of early changes in the sperm plasma membrane during cryopreservation is of utmost importance when designing freezing protocols and has previously been studied in the pig species using annexin-V detection of phosphatidylserine translocation. In the present study we designed a new assay to detect these changes in boar spermatozoa, based on the slight increase of sperm membrane permeability occurring during the early stages of cryoinjury, using the combination of three fluorescent probes, SNARF-1, YO-PRO-1 and ethidium homodimer. Four ejaculates from five different boars were frozen-thawed and flow cytometrically (FC) evaluated as paired samples. One of the samples was assayed using the annexin-V/propidium iodide staining and the other sample was evaluated using the new triple staining. Using this combination of probes, four sperm subpopulations were easily detected: viable, with stable membranes (SNARF-1 positive cells), and three with compromised membranes, one of YO-PRO-1+/Eth- cells, one ethidium homodimer+ spermatozoa and, finally spermatozoa stained both with YO-PRO-1 and ethidium homodimer (YO-PRO-1+/Eth+). The latter three categories corresponded to dead spermatozoa, but with different degree of membrane damage, being YO-PRO+/Eth- an earlier stage of membrane destabilization, (manifested by an increase in membrane permeability, while still maintaining membrane integrity) than YO-PRO+/Eth+. A method agreement analysis between both methods was performed revealing good agreement, although the percentage of live cells was 9.44% larger for the triple stain than the annexin-V assay. The new assay stained all sperm sub-populations present in the sample, making it especially suitable for both fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, facilitating the exclusion of debris and egg-yolk particles when using FC.
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